Joffrey Lupul was benched against Buffalo Sabres
The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Buffalo Sabres in a shootout on Wednesday night, which is either a cause for celebration or completely disappointing, depending on what you’d like the Leafs’ draft lottery odds to become.
One player that had a good view of that win: Winger Joffrey Lupul, who played just 13:09 in the 4-3 victory. He only had three shifts in the third period and none in overtime as coach Peter Horachek benched him.
Joffrey Lupul rode the bench for long stretches.
“Joffrey turned the puck over a few times,” said Horachek. “He let a guy go on the backcheck. The guy could have scored. There were two, three, four things that were not up to (Lupul’s) standards. I didn’t think he was on top of his game.”
Lupul has been excellent in his last 12 games. Oh, wait, check that: He's been a complete nothing. He hasn't posted a point since Feb. 3, skating to a minus-3.
So between this and the recent three-game suspension for Nazem Kadri for being late to a meeting and “other things,” the Leafs are showing an impressive commitment to player accountability. Of course, it’s from a coach who won’t be there next season and comes about two months too late, but impressive nonetheless.
